Category: Freedom

One of the first major in-your-face assaults to abolish our U.S. Constitution and eradicate many of our rights and freedoms occurred over five decades ago when the Supreme Court made a horrendous decision blocking prayer in schools.

Their 1963 ruling made it illegal for students to participate in prayer while in school because it violates the “Separation of Church and State.” The basis of their decision does not appear in our priceless document, nor the Bill of Rights, but it effectively regulated our religious practices and stifled free speech.

In actual fact, what occurred with that decision, and a few others that followed, is that the Court acted as a censoring board of American citizens completely violating the First Amendment, which they are charged to protect.

Examples such as this are proof that anyone who is nominated for the life-long appointment to the Supreme Court must have an exemplary track record of supporting and defending the Constitution and US laws, and not altering or interpreting them for what are political, minority or special interest reasons.

Actions as the above, along with numerous other examples, beg the question “how important are rights, liberty and freedom to you and your family?” Education on the Constitution is your only real defense against those rights, freedom and liberty being taken from you.

The upcoming new movie, In Search of Liberty, produced and directed by Norm Novitsky, makes it easy, simple and fun to learn and know your Constitution. In the movie, a captivating statesman from America’s past takes a modern-day family on a series of wild adventures.

With a spicy mix of humor, magic and logic, he opens their eyes to the origins and importance of the U.S. Constitution, the degree to which it is under attack today and what can and must be done to save it.

Key aspects of the Constitution are clearly outlined and important Amendments — such as those guaranteeing freedom of religion and speech, the right to bear arms, warrants for search and seizure, State’s rights — are shown to be vital in everyday life.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” And, George Washington was quite clear when he said, “If freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

Know your rights!

Protect your rights!

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Scott D. Welch is the COO of IC Liberty Films LLC, the production company of the historic educational and entertaining movie In Search of Liberty.

Many Americans do not realize the extent to which the First Amendment, especially free speech, has been under attack.

It is clear, according to the First Amendment, that free speech cannot be abridged. Period. Yet, it gets done constantly.

Political Correctness has been strangling Free Speech for many years. The same can be said about Free Speech Zones, places designated where people may freely voice their opinions.

Sorry, the United States, in total, is a Free Speech Zone!

However, there are many people and places undermining our right in this area. Take, for instance, institutions of higher learning.

Three years ago, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reported that 59% of American colleges and universities have policies in place that impede First Amendment rights. Another 35% have “policies that overregulate speech on campus.”

That is a total of 94% of our colleges and universities practicing, in one form or another, oppression of one’s right to speak freely, here is these United States.

Every American needs to be aware of all of our rights, as specifically laid out in the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other Amendments.

Having various rights and freedoms infringed upon was a primary motivation, along with the subject not really being taught in school any more, for the production of the movie In Search of Liberty, an educational film, that is also highly entertaining, designed to enlighten young and old alike about our basic rights and freedoms.

In the movie, a captivating statesman from America’s past takes a modern-day family on a series of wild adventures. With a spicy mix of humor, magic and logic, he opens their eyes to the origins and importance of the U.S. Constitution, the degree to which it is under attack today and what can and must be done to save it.

And, make no mistake, it must be saved.

There are those on the left who are constantly working to either undermine or totally ignore that priceless document that our Founding Fathers worked so hard to put together. And, if you are not aware of all of your rights, you do not know when they are being taken away.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” Another Founding Father, John Adams, echoed those words when he said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”

Know your rights!

Keep your rights!

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Scott D Welch is the COO of IC Liberty Films LLC, the production company of the historic educational and entertaining movie In Search of Liberty.

In a recent Fox News “Opening Statement,” Judge Jeanine Pirro leads off with this: “They are changing the rules before your very eyes. This is bigger than a travel ban, bigger than a debate question. The left is changing black letter law and journalistic standards and the constitution in order to satisfy their agenda. They are simply intolerant of opinions that differ from theirs.”

From there she pointed out how, at UC Berkeley, they shut down the First Amendment right an invited speaker, and, in a separate action, others donned black robes and burned the US Constitution in defiance of President Trump exercising his powers to keep America safe.

She then went after Judge Watson in Hawaii whose political motivation, and nothing else, was used to issue an order halting the second, amended temporary travel ban. He claimed the ban would harm tourism in his state. She goes on to say that his decision of applying our religious rights granted in the First Amendment to those in Somalia who are not citizens and do not hold visas or green cards is “outright lunacy.”

There are myriad ways that those on the left attempt to strip away our rights and freedoms and we all must be vigilant to these actions. She tells us all to “stay the course.”

At IC Liberty Films LLC, we are doing our part. We are preparing to market and distribute our feature-length movie, In Search of Liberty, designed to educate all Americans about the US Constitution and Bill of Rights in a highly entertaining manner. For only when we know our rights are we then able to understand when others attempt to lessen them or take them away.

When asked to comment about the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights to IC Liberty Films, Judge Jeanine said, “These are invaluable because they define our freedoms and separate Americans from those in other countries where they are subjects and not drivers of the government.” She also feels that the U.S. Constitution is in jeopardy and that it is up to the Supreme Court to keep the rights defined by our Founding Fathers intact.

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Scott D Welch is the COO of IC Liberty Films LLC, the production company of the historic educational and entertaining movie In Search of Liberty.

Or Was He Trying To Spread Fear?

When former president Bill Clinton recently addressed attendees at an event held at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, he, basically, warned the U.S., Britain, France and others that several countries are “trying to have a pan-national movement to institutionalize separatism and division within national borders all over the world.”

Clinton claims that these countries are actively involved in an “identity crisis” due to practicing nationalism, or a nation-state status, neglecting other countries in the world. If, indeed countries are practicing nationalism that may be true. One definition of nationalism is “The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.”

Perhaps in other countries that may be true. However, in the US, it is not “We the people” practicing nationalism, it is Patriotism, which means “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country.” Patriots will defend to their death the safety and defense of their country, just as our Founding Fathers did.

Thus, he may have confused nationalism with patriotism, at least as far as the United States is concerned. Then again, he might have been trying to spread fear. He also said, “It always comes down to two things – are we going to live in an us and them world, or a world that we live in together? If you got that, in every age and time, the challenges we face can be resolved in a way to keep us going forward instead of taking us to the edge of destruction.”

Simply because Patriots want to live in a safe country does not mean that they cannot live in peace with other countries. And, being a Patriot does not mean that international challenges cannot be resolved to keep the world moving forward.

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Scott D Welch is the COO of IC Liberty Films LLC, the production company of the historic educational and entertaining movie In Search of Liberty.

The 2016 presidential election is much more than just Republican vs Democrat or conservative vs liberal.

It is about liberty. It is about freedom. It is about our rights as individuals here in America.

It is about who is for “The People,” as in “We the People.” It is about whom we can trust.

Hillary has made it abundantly clear where she stands on many issues and why she cannot be trusted.

On NBC’s Meet the Press (April 3, 2016), she said “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.” Interesting, though, that if a pregnant woman is killed that the murderer can be charged with a double-homicide. That unborn appears to have rights.

On October 1, 2015, Hillary slammed the Supreme Court as “wrong on the Second Amendment,” presumably over D.C. v Heller where, in 2008, the SCOTUS affirmed that the Second Amendment granted gun rights to individuals regardless of whether or not they were members of an organized government militia. That very decision overturned D.C.’s total ban on handgun ownership, as well as other strict forms of gun control.

In Brazil, May 2013, she stated “My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders.” America does not need open borders. We need proper immigration and control. We need to know who wants to live here.

To make matters worse, she has advocated for the US to take 65,000 unvetted refugees from Syria. Who foots the bill for these people? US taxpayers. Meanwhile, thousands of US Veterans wait weeks or months or longer for help, yet they became injured fighting for, and protecting, our very right to be free.

Prior to September 11, 2012, when Hillary was Secretary of State (and responsible for the security of our ambassadors and overseas personnel), she refused to send additional military aid or assistance to the US Embassy in Benghazi. Then, when it was attacked she sent no help, despite the pleas from our men stationed there and having knowledge that there were troops within range who could make a difference. They were not deployed. Four men died. She has proven, time and again, that she is not a trusted leader and cannot be Commander in Chief. Remember, there is an ages-old saying in the military, “You don’t leave men behind,” which is exactly what she did.

The lies she has stated to the American people, and especially while testifying about her email scandal, are despicable. She sent and received classified material on a non-secure server. That much is clear, yet she does not receive any penalty, or even a formal reprimand. Instead, she is allowed to run for the nation’s highest office. That is truly being above the law. Then, during the third debate, she literally tried to pin the whole possible hacking charge on the Russians and Donald J. Trump. This is a woman who simply cannot be trusted with State secrets.

And none of the above, of course, covers her infamous cover-up of her husband’s many bedroom and Oval Office sexual escapades and what she did and said to the women who accused her husband of his infidelities. He was, after all, impeached for his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

There were 56 individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence. There were thousands of others who put their lives on the line to ensure that the United States of America became established through the Revolutionary War and the adoption of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

However, there is only one Benjamin Franklin.

As one of the key Founding Fathers, Franklin did, indeed, sign both the Declaration and the US Constitution, but he did so much more. He was one of the earliest proponents of colonial unity and earned the title of “The First American.”

He was a true renaissance man, with vast knowledge in many subject areas, and one who mastered several professions. He was an author, a printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat.

Born in Boston as one of 17 children, his thoughts about freedom began early in life. At the age of 15, one of his brothers was jailed for publishing words against the governor. Young Benjamin, who had been writing for the paper as Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow, took over his brother’s newspaper and had Dogood proclaim, “Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.”

Never one to be silent or mince words on the subject, Franklin said, on November 17, 1737, “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.”

He also knew that government, in any form, is not perfect, but that a republic, set up as our Founding Fathers had done, could stand for a long length of time – depending on the people. On April 17, 1787, Franklin wrote about the quality that the people must have for a republic to endure, “…only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”

He is one who lived his life true to his God and to the Republic of which he helped create.